Do you doubt God’s love for you?

There are times when I pray and I doubt if there’s actually any point to it. It’s not because I think God isn’t able, because He is more than able (Ephesians 3:20), but because the prayers are coming from, well, me.

I try to obediently and diligently present my requests to God, with thanksgiving in all situations (Philippians 4:6), because I know that’s what I’m supposed to do. Then I think to myself, really? Am I wasting my time? Am I worth even listening to? I make more mistakes than good decisions, I forget to read the Bible because well, life happens, and I feel like a disappointment a lot of the time… am I really worthy of even a speck of God’s attention? Would He really indulge my petty little requests, when there are bigger things going on in the world; things that are actually important? Then I navigate through the rabbit hole of self-destructive thoughts and reach the ultimate soul-crushing question:

Does God really love me?

I don’t know if these thoughts ever cross your mind. Maybe I’m just being dramatic. Maybe I should stop feeling sorry for myself. Or maybe I’m just human. And you are, too. Maybe it’s Satan’s attempt to deceive us (2 Corinthians 11:3). Maybe, just maybe, when we have these thoughts, it’s the battle of our spirit vs flesh, a battle to the death — of either our worldly ways or our spiritual life.

Whatever the reason, however low you may feel, if you’re anything like me and sometimes need a little reminder to help you get through the day, here it is.

God loves you so much that He died for you, just the way you are.

When we accept the gift of salvation, we accept the fact that God DIED for us, out of His love for us (John 3:16, Romans 3:23–24; 1 John 4:9–10). God loves us so much, that Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, became flesh (John 1:14), lived out a human life knowing what was to come (Matthew 20:17–19), took on the burden of OUR sins, not His, (1 John 2:2) and suffered a horrible, torturous death for us (Isaiah 53:4–5). For me. For you.

God died not because we earned it or deserve it, but because of His love and grace (Ephesians 2:8–9). He died for us measly sinners (Romans 5:6–8), and there is no greater love than that.

Put on your armour of God and battle any thoughts of doubt in your mind.

Does everyone have doubts? I’m not sure. But as we talked about before, our flesh and spirit are in battle so surely they will battle for and against God. Satan has been trying to make us question God and His Word since the days of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1) so who’s to say he is not making us doubt God’s love, too, in an attempt to lead us astray? (2 Corinthians 11:3) It might be confusing, it’s hard to know for sure, but it’s definitely not unheard of; we are told to put on our armour of God to a stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:10–18) — whatever they may be!

Now before we get back to the real world, empowered with the knowledge that we are unconditionally loved, let’s not forget that God’s unfailing love isn’t a free pass to keep sinning (Romans 6:1–2). God has given us a gift. A gift of life, of hope (John 3:16; Romans 5:1–2). God’s love is in us, through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We’ve been equipped with the ability to reject worldly passions, live godly lives (Titus 2:11–12) and pass on to this amazing, selfless love to others (1 John 4:8). We’re no longer slaves to sins and our evil desires but now, thanks to God’s grace, we have the thrilling, scary and humbling instruction to ‘offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness’ (Romans 6:1–14).

Let’s not use this knowledge to walk around thinking we’re ‘all that’ or better than anyone else. Let’s keep it as a reminder to put on our armour of God and equip ourselves to battle with any thoughts of doubt, any deceptions Satan might try to place in our minds, anything that may steer us away from our purpose in life. Let’s use it to bring glory to God (Isaiah 43:7) through our everyday lives, knowing full well that we are so, so loved and that nothing in ALL creation can separate us from God’s faithful and everlasting love (Romans 8:35–39; Psalm 25:10).